Monday, October 29, 2007

More pears...


I've been so frustrated with watercolor lately that I've decided to take a break from it and return to just using pencil for awhile.
Graphite on Bristol.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

EDM #140: An Envelope


This is the kind of mail I would prefer not to receive. I'm sure you all know what it is. And where it's headed.
Graphite and colored pencil on Bristol

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Satsuma Mandarin Orange



It's a Mandarin orange, but it looks a bit like a pear in my drawing. I was pleased to find it at the grocery store yesterday, with leaves still attached.
Graphite on Bristol

Thursday, October 25, 2007

EDM #92: Brown paper bag


I was in a hurry when I did this drawing. I hadn't done any art for a couple of weeks and just wanted to draw something. It looks rushed, plus I wasn't really paying attention to size when I drew these, so part of the drawing did not fit in the scanner. And there's a problem with the composition. The two bags on the right look like they are touching, rather than one overlapping the other. I did that with those red pears, too. Guess that's something I need to watch out for...
Graphite on Bristol.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Tagged...

Casey has tagged me - now it's my turn to tell seven random things about myself and pass it on to seven other bloggers. Here are my truly random facts...

1. A crazed part of me believes becoming an artist has less to with practicing every day than it does with finding just the right art book. I own a lot of art books.

2. I love the feel of fine linens and buy the best quality sheets I can afford. And if those freshly laundered sheets were to be dried on a line and put away in the linen closet with the scent of sunshine and summer breeze on them, it would provide a moment of perfection when they were put on the bed. ( I haven't really experienced this for years, but still vividly remember loving the scent of my mother's line-dried sheets.)

3. I detest bananas and the smell of ripe bananas makes me feel sick. My earliest memory of elementary school is of other children taking smelly, overripe bananas out of their paper sacks at lunchtime. But I love to paint them!

4. When I was in my twenties I spent five weeks in India on a spiritual quest of sorts and quickly became ill, losing 30 pounds during my stay. By the time I left the country I could only tolerate peanuts, buffalo yogurt and (yes, I know it doesn’t jive with #3) tiny, sweet Indian bananas. Spending time in India was fascinating and revealing. Mostly I learned the truth of the saying, “Wherever you go, there you are.”

5. Books are my passion and I read most genres, except romance novels. I read every day and walking into a home without books unsettles me.

6. I lived in Monterey, California during the counter-culture days of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s and still have my ticket stub from the Monterey Pop Festival ($10). My roommate decided to give her ticket away because she had never heard of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix or The Who, a decision I’m sure she lived to regret.

7. My first marriage was a serious lapse in judgment, but I did much, much better on my second attempt. Meeting and marrying my kind, generous and capable husband has profoundly changed my life. His positive and easy-going manner has provided a wonderful counterbalance to my tendency towards moody negativity and self-criticism.

Here are the seven people I'm tagging: Jana, Jess, Sherry, Christeen, Laura, Joan, Juj, If you have the time and inclination to participate, I'd love to learn more about you. I understand, if it doesn't appeal to you. If you've already responded to being tagged, please send me the link when you have a chance.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Monday, October 1, 2007

EDM #139: Something with a handle


"Profusion" zinnias are one of my favorite flowers. They bloom like crazy all summer, continuing well into the fall. The flowers start out a rich deep orange-red, fade to a lovely apricot in the sunlight and end up a pale yellow. They last a long time in flower arrangements. Maybe they should be called perfection instead of profusion.